Page 100 of His Fated Luna

Aiden's POV

I sat there fuming in the car with Tony. All I could take away from that entire disaster of a conversation was that Rose enjoyed it when Jake was turned on by her. She liked it. And that messed with my head more than I wanted to admit. I wanted her to enjoy those things with me. I wanted to be the one who made her smile like that. I wanted her to reach for me, to lean into my touch—even when no one else was watching. I wanted her to hug me the way she’d hugged that smug bastard Jake.

And with painful clarity, it hit me—she had never hugged me. Not once. She’d never wrapped her arms around me, pressed her body into mine, smiling like I was exactly who she needed at that moment. I wanted those hugs. All of them. For the rest of my life.

“This is some twisted foreplay,” Tony groaned, hands covering his face like he couldn’t bear to watch any more of this train wreck.

“What was I supposed to do?” I snapped. “He was all over her!”

“Maybe actually be in a real relationship with her instead of a fake one before you try to stake a claim,” Tony shot back, way too calm for my liking.

Silence settled between us, thick and awkward. Then I muttered, “Well, you just don’t understand anything then.”

Tony turned to me, his voice sharp. “I understand everything a little too well,” he said. “Aiden, you’re hornier than a teenage boy. You’re pissed off because you pushed her away and now suddenly realize you want her!” Tony threw his hands up in frustration before slamming his palms against the steering wheel. “And you’re taking it out on poor Rosie because—if I had to guess—your pent-up sexual frustration is getting out of hand! Maybe you need to spend some quality time withyourhand and cool the fuck off. Otherwise... she’s really going to start hating you. And when you’re this keyed up and obsessed with her, you can’t think straight.”

I didn’t respond. I just sat there, stewing in my own silence.

Tony reached for the door handle, but I couldn’t help the words that tumbled out next. “She has some stupid intimacy pain suppressant medicine in her bag,” I said, my voice bitter.

“So?” Tony challenged without missing a beat. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means she either wants to use it or wants me to use it. Either way, it means this thing—us—it’s not permanent to her.”

“Isn’t this a temporary thing for you?” he shot back challengingly. “Didn’t you make that clear to Rose from the start?”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Before? Yeah. It was. Now... I don’t know. I need to think some things over.”

“Well, you might want to start thinking,” Tony said with a heavy sigh as he got out of the car, shifting and disappearing into the woods toward his home.

Chapter 31

“The heart makes its choices without weighing the consequences. It doesn't look ahead to the lonely nights that follow.” ? Tess Gerritsen, Keeping The Dead

Rose's POV

“Don’t forget we have Aiden’s graduation ceremony tomorrow morning, dear!” Josie reminded me at the breakfast table. Her smile was gentle, eyes hopeful as they stayed pinned to my form. “Afterwards we plan to go out to lunch to celebrate Dylan’s birthday and Aiden’s graduation!” Josie threw up her hands in excitement. That’s right, it was Dylan’s eighteenth birthday tomorrow! And while I knew for a fact that Dylan would be excited to have me, I didn’t know if Aiden would welcome me at his graduation.

I hesitated in my response, glancing toward Aiden who was standing next to the coffee machine. “You want me to attend your graduation?”

Josie looked between us politely from where she stood by the sink, not letting the moment slip past.

“Why wouldn’t we want you to attend?” She shot Aiden a pointed, censorious look.

“I’m sure the graduation is a family event,” I mumbled, nervously biting my bottom lip and looking down at my half-eaten breakfast as I sat on my stool in front of the countertop.

“You’re a member of our household, Rose. You are like family,” Josie said kindly but firmly, giving her son another sharp glance.

I let out a small sigh. Aiden probably didn’t even want me there—

“I asked for an extra ticket with you in mind,” he said suddenly. His voice was calm and clear, echoing through the kitchen. His gaze was steady on me as he walked over and set down a cup of coffee before me. I inhaled the scent of cinnamon wafting from it. Was this his peace offering after the fight we’d had a few days ago?

“Because it would look suspicious if I didn’t come,” I snapped, my tone harsher than I intended. It always came back to that, didn’t it?

“Because you’re like family,” Aiden repeated Josie’s words “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to though.”

With that, he walked out of the kitchen.

I stared after him, unsure what to make of it.